


You're Somebody Else

by DrunkInTheBackOfTheCar



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:15:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26888737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrunkInTheBackOfTheCar/pseuds/DrunkInTheBackOfTheCar
Summary: It took Hope 2 weeks to fall for Josie, 6 months to finally open up, and 1 day to have her world come crashing down.  Hope was blindsided by what happened next.____“God.  Hope Mikaelson.  You are too good for me.  I don’t deserve you.”Both girls moved to the bed, sitting up on the edge as they faced each other with genuine intent.Josie moved to grab Hope’s hands, “I love you Hope Mikaelson.  Those are the truest words I’ve ever said.”
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 25
Kudos: 180





	1. Chapter 1

It took Hope 2 weeks to fall for Josie, 6 months to finally open up, and 1 day to have her world come crashing down. Never in a million years would she ever expect Josie to distance herself, let alone break up with her, not after those 6 months. 

Josie had broken up with her exactly 1 month, 1 week, and 4 days ago. 

Hope thinks her family would find her pathetic to be pining over a lost love for so long, but nothing could ever compete with the memories she made with Josie. The constant laughter-filled nights out in the old mill past curfew, “studying” in the library, and dates in each other’s rooms where Josie finally got Hope to open up.

Trust was something that didn’t exist in Hope’s repertoire until Josie. Her delicate yet encouraging personality allowed Hope to build that trust, believing that nothing Josie could do would break it. Ever.

Josie would simply ask her questions about her past, attempting to get Hope to open up about the trauma that came with losing both her parents. She never forced Hope to do anything she didn’t want, surrounding her with an endless patience that made Hope fall for her even more. 

But that trust was broken in a matter of seconds when Hope was blindsided by Josie’s sudden wish to break up. She remembers it like it was just hours ago:

_A subtle knock at her door kicked Hope out of her homework daze, almost falling asleep from her definitions of ingredients in a luck potion Dorian had assigned._

_Hope immediately got up and fixed the wrinkles that had begun to appear on her clothes, practically knowing who was at her door. No one but Josie would knock that softly and she could hear the girl’s heartbeat fluttering through the door._

_Hope excitedly opened the door, only managing, “Hey what’s up?” before Josie barged in. She seemed off, pacing back and forth in front of Hope’s bed and never meeting the tribrid’s eyes._

_“Okay…” Hope stammered, “That’s new… What’s going on? I’ve never seen you so jittery and anxious like this.”_

_Josie just stared back at Hope, still not fully making long eye contact. As much as she tried to hide it, Hope knew Josie was avoiding something._

_Before Hope could say another word, Josie lept from her position, backing Hope into her own door as pouty lips met stiff ones._

_The tribrid’s hand instinctively laid gently upon the siphoner’s hips as Josie tangled her hands into the auburn hair starting from the nape of her neck._

_Their mouths moved together, only parting for a shallow breath, as each increasingly pressed against the other._

_Situations like these were not new to Hope. In fact, they had been going on ever since their 2nd date in Mystic Falls square. Josie would come to Hope’s room every now and then for “help” on homework only to be found minutes later in a compromising position._

_Hope hands began to wander, moving down from the siphoner’s hips towards her thighs. The tribrid lightly trailed her finger over a spot that made Josie tremble every time, and this time did not disappoint._

_Josie canted up as Hope’s fingers slowly dragged over her over-sensitive thighs, eliciting a cross between a gasp and moan that had Hope’s stomach flip a million times over._

_In return, Josie moved her lips from the Mikaelson girl’s mouth to the crease where her collarbone meets her neck. Rather hurriedly, Josie’s lips move from place to place on the tribrid’s neck, just long enough to leave faint marks where old ones had faded._

_Hope could see trims of gold beginning to form around her eyes, even with them closed. She took a breath, backing away from the disheveled siphoner, allowing her thoughts to return to her concern prior to this...confrontation._

_“Wait, wait,” Hope managed to huff out, out of breath from previous engagements, “You were all worried when you first came in here. What’s wrong?”_

_“I just needed some release. That’s all,” returned Josie, rather seductively as she swayed back towards the tribrid._

_“Josie,” Hope said now with a concerned look on her face, “I can hear your heartbeat. I can tell when you’re lying. Tell me what’s wrong.”_ _  
  
_

_“God. Hope Mikaelson. You are too good for me. I don’t deserve you.”_

_Both girls moved to the bed, sitting up on the edge as they faced each other with genuine intent._

_Josie moved to grab Hope’s hands, “I love you Hope Mikaelson. Those are the truest words I’ve ever said.”_

_Hope could hear the hesitation in Josie’s heartbeat, shifting even more on edge, afraid to hear what’s next._

_At this point, Hope could see the tears in Josie’s eyes, just seconds away from falling. “But it’s because I love you that I can’t put you through this.”_

_Hope believed she was hearing everything wrong. Was Josie breaking up with her?_

_“This?” Hope questioned, emotion getting the best of her and influencing the tone of her voice, “What’s ‘this’ Josie?”_ _  
  
_

_Josie was reduced to tears and she quickly jumped up from the bed and rushed towards the exit of Hope’s room. “I’m sorry,” were the only words she managed to cry out before slamming the door, leaving the tribrid desolate, just as she was minutes before._

_What the fuck just happened._

_Seconds before this they had been fine. They had been making out. Now Hope was girlfriend-less and left alone with no one to turn to._

_She was taken so off guard, she didn’t know how to react. What had Josie meant by her reasoning? She was frozen in the same position for hours, stuck with her emotions circling around in her head._

_She cried herself to sleep that night, needing the one person she couldn’t have._

_______

Hope gave Josie space for the entirety of next week. She took longer paths to classes to make sure she wouldn’t bump into the siphoner. She took her lunch to her own room to eat, so that she wouldn’t have to sit at the same table. She even requested that her seat be changed in potions class so that they wouldn’t be partners for any upcoming projects.

Hope would only see the Saltzman twin in brief passing as she made her way to her room through the library. She looked nothing out of the ordinary, as if what happened didn’t affect her in the slightest. 

The tribrid wolfed-out twice as much that week, spending just about every hour after school until the break of dawn running ramped on campus grounds. Anything she could do to stop herself from confronting Josie.

However, even in brief passing, Hope noticed a new vampire hanging out with Josie and her friends. Joan? Jane? She couldn’t remember her name, but she remembered how much Josie’s face lit up when she was with her. 

  
She would catch glimpses of the vampire and the siphoner in the library or at lunch, chatting away about something absurd Lizzie had done. Hope tried to restrain herself from looking, because each time, she felt more and more empty as the siphoner was growing further away.

It wasn’t until the next Saturday when she finally decided to talk to Josie to get an explanation.

Hope thought she had her emotions under control all week, as she was able to restrain herself from doing anything impulsive, but this time only allowed her anger to boil inside of her, reaching a breaking point at the same time she faced Josie.

With a knock on the twin’s bedroom door, she waited impatiently for an answer, restless tapping her foot.

To her surprise, Josie answered, looking as if she were going out, dressed in something other than the school uniform or school spirit wear. Something she rarely did for even Hope. 

Josie immediately turned her back to the tribrid after recognizing who was at the door. She walked over to her dresser, picking out the final touch of jewelry to go with her outfit. She also downed a shot of whatever left in a small bottle leftover in her room. Josie never usually drank.

“Wow,” Hope unintentionally scoffed. She hadn’t meant to come off as abrasive, but maybe she should have expected it as a natural reaction since she had one hell of a week. “Did you get a new wardrobe or something?”

“No, Hope,” Josie said under her breath, without even bothering to look towards the tribrid. 

“I’ve never seen you wear anything but something ‘Salvatore Boarding School’ related. Where are you going?”

“Hope, I don’t have time for small talk right now. If you came here to ask me something, then ask it.”

“I did ask you something.” Hope deadpanned, “Where are you going?”

“I know that’s not why you’re here–”

Hope interrupted, irritated by the lack of response by Josie. Had they really fallen out of good relations with each other that fast? “Just answer the damn question Josie.”

“Fine. If you really want to know, I’m going on a date.”

The Mikaelson witch’s eyes got wide. She’d never expect Josie to move on that quickly. “A date?” she asked, barely able to get the question out of her mouth.

“Yes, Hope, a date. I was trying to spare you some pain, but I would’ve thought you’d be smart enough to have guessed by now.”  
  


A disgruntled Hope furrowed her eyebrows looking at Josie with disbelief in her eyes, “What has gotten into you?”

“I’m not the same person you dated, Hope. I’ve changed.”  
  
“It’s been a week Josie. How much can a person change in a week?”

“Enough apparently.” Josie punctuated. She was about to walk past the tribrid to leave her room, but Hope reached out to pull her back. She needed one good look into the siphoner’s eyes to even begin to believe the words coming out of her mouth were actually Josie’s. 

When Hope looked into those deep brown eyes, she was met with a coldness she never experienced before. In the past, Josie’s eyes were filled with love and care, but now they were only harsh and hollow.

“Let. Go” Josie said, emphasizing each word.

“No. Not until I get what I actually came here for: an explanation.”  
  


“What more of an explanation do you need? I broke up with you Hope–meaning I don't I want to be with you anymore. I'm sorry for being blunt, but it's the truth. You can listen to my heartbeat.”

And Hope did listen. She was met with a steady heartbeat, with no irregularities that would signify the siphoner was lying to her. This didn’t add up though. If Josie’s heart was beating so irregular a week ago, why was nothing happening now? Was something wrong with her supernatural hearing? 

The only thing that Hope could do was to let her go now, and figure it out later. “Fine,” she said in a defeated tone.

“Now, if you don’t mind, could you get out of my room? Jade’s waiting and I’m late.”

And without a second thought Josie rushed off circling the corner, disappearing from Hope’s site. But what the tribrid didn’t know, as she was too dumbstruck to listen, was that Josie didn’t make it but 20 feet around the corner before crumbling into a weeping mess. 

That was the hardest thing Josie had to do in her life: lie to the person she wanted most. She knew that for this plan of hers to work, she had to act so careless and devoid of love for Hope to believe any word she said. Even though it caused everyone she cared about so much pain, it was her only choice. 

That’s why she drank that potion before talking to Hope when she entered her room. She knew Hope would see right through her lies, especially with her heartbeat, so she had the potion conceal it for her. A potion of mendax–to help the user lie, changing their heartbeat and charisma to pass any lie detection. 

Josie cried in silence as she slipped into the hallway bathroom. There she stood deep in her thoughts, wondering if the Mikaelson girl would ever love her again after this. 

_____ 

Weeks passed, and Hope was still confused by Josie. Nothing seemed to add up, especially since whenever they would make accidental eye-contact, Josie would blush and immediately avert her eyes, as if she had been shamelessly caught staring at the tribrid.

There was even one event when Hope almost got into a fight with Jade. They were sparring in PE class when things got out of hand. A hair-pull led to a scratch on the arm and then some choice words were thrown at each other.

“What Mikaelson? Can’t handle a newly freed vampire? Or can you not handle that I stole your girlfriend?” Jade sneered across the mat.

Hope’s head was swelling with fury, wanting to rip the girl’s head off to reclaim her stereotype that she should not be messed with. “I’d be careful with what you say next. One bite and I could send you 6 feet underground.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Hope was about to launch towards the vampire, but from the corner of her eye she caught the brunette siphoner twin staring wide-eyed at the situation that had evolved in the gym. Hope didn’t realize that they had gathered an audience. Everyone was circled around the two girls. 

Hope’s eyes were brought off Josie when Jade herself launched towards the tribrid. Hope had quick enough reflexes, though, to jump and catch the blonde vampire in midair and throw her, hurdling her like a ragdoll, back down to the mat.

Jade used her vamp speed to immediately get back up, spin around Hope, and put the tribrid in a headlock on the ground. Hope used the momentum of her going down to flip over Jade and pin her back down to the mat. 

However, Jade was a relentless fighter, twisting out of Hope’s grip only to move around to the back of her and put her in another chokehold. But this time, Hope wasn’t going to hold back. Hope felt the gold begin to rim along her eyes and her fangs slowly start to develop in her mouth. She opened wide, almost about to bite down on the arm Jade was using as the hold around her neck. 

Before Hope could bite, Alaric rushed in and yelled. 

“Stop.”  
  
Silence filled the room and Hope pushed the vampire off her as she had turned her head to see who yelled.

“What were you two thinking? You could’ve gotten each other killed,” Alaric scolded both girls.

“Yeah,” Jade said, out of breath from fighting, “that was kind of the point.”  
  
“Both of you. My office. Now.”  
  


Hope was used to this walk of shame to the headmaster’s office. She had done it multiple times when she was younger but also when Alaric needed help with Malivore monsters. But this time, students lined the halls as word got out of what had just occurred in the gym. 

When they got to the headmaster’s office, Alaric instantly shut the door behind them. “Explain. Now.”  
  
Both the girls were hesitant to start talking, just kind of looking back and forth between each other and the floor. They knew things had gotten out of hand quickly, but this is a supernatural school after all. Fights like this happen everyday. 

Alaric got tired of not receiving an answer, so he directed his next words towards Hope, knowing she’d respond. “I expect better from you Hope.”  
  
“I’ve heard that one before. Listen, just give me a damn punishment and let me go on about my day.”

“Okay then, both of you are suspended to your rooms for the rest of the week. You’re only allowed out for classes and meals. No library, no field, no wolfing out, no parties, no anything.”

Jade’s eyes got wide when Alaric mentioned parties. Hope knew that it was MG’s birthday today, and everyone was planning to go to his party at the Old Mill tonight. 

The tribrid knew Jade wasn’t used to Alaric’s empty threats. He never once actually enforced his punishments. Hope knew how easy it was to sneak out, but this was Jade’s first time getting reprimanded. 

“You’re both dismissed.”

The two girls walked out silently together and immediately went in opposite directions from his office. Even though Hope was invited to MG’s party, she didn’t really feel like going, so Alaric’s punishment gave her a good excuse not to go. 

Hope headed to her room to get cleaned up and ready for a night to herself. But before she could even change out her sweaty gym clothes, she received a knock at her door. Hmmm this seems a little like deja vu…

Hope opened up only to see the Saltzman twin. The blond Saltzman twin. 

“What do you want Lizzie? I’m not really in the mood–” said Hope, shrugging off Lizzie’s presence.  
  
“How dumb do you have to be Mikaelson to get in a fight with you ex’s new girlfriend.” said Lizzie as she forcefully entered Hope’s room without an invite.   
  
“Jade started it,” Hope defended herself. Although she sounded like a toddler.

“Nevermind that. What are you wearing to the party tonight?”

Hope used the excused Alaric and gave her, “I’m not going Lizzie. Your dad punished me with no free time.”  
  


“And when has that ever stopped you before? You’re full of some bullshit you know?”

Hope rolled her eyes, “Whatever. Maybe you’ll see me, maybe you won’t.” Hope walked over to her closet and began folding clothes. Anything to make this conversation go a little bit faster. 

“You think I’m actually here under my own free will wondering if you are going to the party? You really are dumb sometimes. I’m just the messenger. _She_ doesn’t want you bothering them tonight if you are going.” 

“Jade? Damn, I didn’t think she would be the type to have someone else fight her battles. Well tell her–”  
  
“No, stupid not her. Ew, why would I ever talk to her? I don’t ever associate with vamps in my free time.” Lizzie babbled, looking at her nails pretentiously, as if she was the queen bee of everyone at this school.   
  
“Yeah? Tell that to MG and see what he thinks.” Hope snarked. Did she say this out loud? She didn’t mean to, it just sounded funny in her head.   
  
“That’s besides the point Mikaelson,” Lizard glared back, rolling her eyes. “She, as in _Josie_.” 

Hope’s eyes widened. She’s given Josie what she wanted: space. She hasn’t talked to the siphoner or even been anywhere close to her. Was it because of what happened in the gym today? 

Even though Hope didn’t have any interactions with Josie, it doesn’t mean that she didn’t think about her all the time. Josie invaded her thoughts every single second of the day. The tribrid wondered what she was doing after school, who she was hanging out with (although she thought she already knew the answer to that one) and what she was thinking. 

Josie mentioning Hope, only gave her a small amount of confidence before it turned into anger. Why does she get to mention Hope, but Hope doesn’t get to mention her. She’s the one who asked for space–who didn’t want her.

“What? Why does she care all of sudden? She hasn’t even intentionally looked in my direction for the past 3 weeks.”

“I don’t know, but something has crawled up her ass and died in it since you two broke up.” Lizzie emphasized. 

“She hasn’t said a word about it to me either, which I find offensive since I am her twin…” Lizze shifted her weight and primped her hair as if she expected her sister to tell her every detail about her life. “Anyway, personally, I think you should go maybe just to spite her or just to get over her, because you’re still pining over.”  
  
“What? No I’m not” said Hope, immediately defending herself.

  
“Mikaelson,” Lizzie started at Hope with disbelief on her face, “it’s so obvious. But if you say you’re not, then go to spite her, because she needs a slap in the face to fix whatever she has going on.”

“Fine, whatever. I’ll see you there.”  
  
Lizzie left Hope’s room without saying another word. The door slammed behind her and Hope let out the loudest sigh as she fell backwards onto her bed. What was she going to do at the party?

_____

Hope stood alone by the keg, drowning her sorrows in whatever concoction was in her cup now. All it did was numb the pain, never fully taking it away.

She looked over toward the fire only seeing Jade draped around Josie’s shoulder. Their fingers were intertwined and Jade gave Josie sloppy kisses on her hands, cheeks, and shoulders. They must have had a lot to drink, well at least Jade did, because she could barely keep her eyes open and seemed to be slurring her words. 

As much as Hope shouldn’t be possessive, her wolf couldn’t help but flare up noticing Josie’s openness to this new relationship, that already involved so much... _touching_.

She turned her head away in disgust, biting her tongue and clenching her fist so that she wouldn’t do anything impulsive.

MG came bouncing over towards the keg to refill his drink, changing his emotions when he noticed Hope sulking away. 

“Cheer up miss tribrid!” he inaudibly yelled towards Hope.

Hope just rolled her eyes at the sight of him, wondering how she let Lizzie convince her to come. But she had to put on a happy face for him since it was his birthday.

MG, most likely under the influence, pointedly noticed Hope’s necklace, the same one Josie had given to her for her birthday. A small emblem that fit perfectly with the Mikaelson crest, that she had never given a thought to until now.

“isn’t that the necklace Josie gave you for your birthday?” MG asked quite loudly.

Hope’s cheeks flared up with a bright red color, feeling embarrassed for never noticing that she still wore it. “Yeah,” her voice trailed off, “I guess it is.”  
  
“You guys broke up awhile ago Hope. Don’t you think you should take it off?”

Hope reached around the back of her neck to unclasp the necklace. If she was going to start to try to move on, this was the universe giving her a sign. “Yeah,” she said this time, more confidently, “You’re probably right.”  
  
Hope successfully released the necklace from around her neck and stuffed it away in her pocket. Before she could get another word out, MG slurred, “Oh shit, don’t look now, but I think Josie just saw you take it off.”  
  
Without giving it a second thought, Hope quickly turned her head, only to be met with Josie’s deep brown doe eyes staring back at her with a hint of hurt. 

“Hope!” MG yelled in her ear, “I said don’t look now!”

Hope saw a dejected look on Josie’s face even with Jade’s head leaning on her shoulder. Jade didn’t even notice Josie’s change in demeanor. She must have been too focused on the game of spin the bottle they were playing around the fire. But even then, the vampire looked like she had surpassed her limits for the night.

While they had been separated for a month now, Hope would never forget Josie’s face when she got upset about something. Her lip would always jut out and her eyes would get even bigger. It was if her heart had stopped beating, both then and now, seeing Josie in this state: helpless and disconnected from those around her.

Josie carefully averted her eyes as if to play off that she hadn’t just been caught staring. She aimed her attention back towards Jade, intently focused on the game, not her girlfriend.

While the eye contact barely lasted for a second, Hope immediately began to make her way away from the Old Mill and back towards the school. That was enough alcohol for the night, and she didn’t need anymore reminders of what she had lost.

Hope speed walked back to the school so that she wouldn’t attract any attention if anyone noticed her. She would pass it off as a trip to the kitchen for a midnight snack or a bathroom break in a place with actual plumbing.

Halfway there, she heard footsteps racing up behind her, and quickly following, an all too familiar voice yelling her name.

Hope turned her head to see how far Josie was behind her before picking up her own pace to keep her distance from the girl. After all, it was what she wanted.

“Hope please stop” yelled Josie again, this time at a full sprint trying to keep up with the tribrid.

Maybe it was the alcohol Hope had that made her stop, or maybe it was Hope’s courage reaching a peak: she wanted to give Josie a piece of her mind. Regardless, Hope stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to face Joise, who at this point, was just a couple feet away from her.

“What do you want Josie,” Hope yelled, her voice raw and full of emotion. “You broke up with me. You asked me to leave you alone. You turned around and found someone else less than a week after, like I never even existed.”  
  


“No Hope,” Josie said, voice cracking sounding almost like a plea, “I never meant to hurt you. Please j-just listen–”  
  
The Mikaelson girl interrupted with the most anger she had ever shown the Saltzman witch. “No. No, you don’t just get to ask me to listen.” 

At this point Hope’s voice was turning hoarse, and tears were surfacing to her eyes.

“You. Left. Me.” 

The conviction in Hope’s voice was nothing like she’s ever done before in a spell. This was laced with heartbreak, angst, and pure anger. 

“Tonight was supposed to be me finally moving on. Then I find you staring at me like some dejected lost puppy when you have someone who clearly wants you hanging over your shoulder. Hell, hanging over even more than your fucking shoulder.”

Hope paused before gathering her words to make her feelings clear to the siphoner. Hope didn’t even bother to look at how her words affected the siphoner, spewing out every thought, every emotion, and every feeling. 

“Do her a favor and don’t dangle her by a string if you’re just gonna break her heart like you did mine. You don’t need me anymore, so why are you still trying when you made it perfectly clear before?”

The air was silent between the two as Hope ended her burst of emotion. She was done dealing with Josie. Hope had made up her mind. She would be perfectly fine if she never had to see the girl again. 

Deciding to turn around to head back to her room, Hope began to leave without giving the Saltzman twin another thought. 

  
Before she even moved 10 feet, Josie, under her breath but still loud enough for the tribrid to hear, said, “I still fall asleep every night to the thought of you.”

Frozen, Hope stood under the moonlight. She was too tired for this conversation and maybe even a little too drunk. 

She would regret these next words in the morning, because all she truly wanted, even if she would never admit it to herself right now, was another chance with the siphoner. 

But her heart wouldn’t allow her to re-open up that easily, especially to someone who played with it.

Without even looking back at Josie, what Hope simply whispered would condemn her to incessant turmoil for the next month or perhaps the rest of her existence.   
  
“Goodnight Josie.”

And with that, she left the siphoner standing alone in the woods with nothing but her words hanging out in the air, missing the tear that fell down the brunette’s cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol sorry kinda sad  
> idk if this is going to be a oneshot or mini series


	2. Chapter 2

Slamming the door shut behind her, Josie slid down the adjacent wall, attempting to smother the sounds of her cries with her hands. 

God she was in some deep trouble now, and not just with Hope.

Right on que, the chimera appeared in her room trotting around, looking furious with the siphoner. Josie hated to even look at the creature as its “lion head” resembled nothing close to what she would consider a lion. The fur of its elongated goat body remained stiff and charred, while its snake tail was often oozing with bodily fluids as it coiled around every object in her room. 

It was the size of her bed, making it impossible to ignore as it continued to linger, contemplating on its next move. Josie thought she was for sure dead. 

“I thought I told you to make Hope hate you. It didn’t look like that 5 minutes ago,” the chimera purred right in her ear, as its tail came up to gently stroke her cheek.

“I–I did. I mean–I mean I have. I have done exactly what you’ve asked of me for over a month now.”

  
  
The creature’s onslaught continued, “You gave her a tiny bit of hope that anything that existed between you two is still there.”

  
  
“It was an accident. I was drunk. I swear it just slipped out,” stammered Josie, “I promise you I can still do what you’ve asked.”

“You’re going to have to regain my trust.” The creature tilted his head, showing the threatening glint of its eyes. “If I can’t have you as an ally, I’ll just use you as leverage.”

“I can still do what you asked. I will make Hope hate me again and you’ll never have to worry about her being the most powerful being. You won’t even have to give me any help like with the potion.”   
  


Josie knew that for her plan to work, she had to play the long game and needed to regain the creature's trust. She had done her research on the creature, uncovering its strengths and weaknesses for the past month. While its main ability was its brute force, it also had the ability to change the poison it excreted from its tail to do just about anything. At its highest potency, it could kill a human within 10 minutes, but it could also be used as an ingredient for some very useful potions.

Different amounts of poison could be transformed into potions: potions of love, potions of lust, potions of jealousy, and more recently, potions of mendax.

It’s weakness? Airborne combat, which could only mean that Landon, of all people, would need to step in to help save the day. But the only problem with that solution is that Landon and Rafael had been AWOL since Raf suggested they both go on a “soul searching” retreat after his discovery of his phoenix powers.

Josie had planned to go on a trip with Jade and some wolves in hopes of finding them, passing it off as a student-bonding camping trip, but now with her slip up in the forest, that plan would have to be delayed.

“I’m giving you one more chance to prove your worth to me, siphoner,” said the chimera. “Betray me again, and I won’t hesitate to count you off as collateral damage on my warpath against the tribrid.”   
  
Without a second’s notice, the creature was gone, it’s words ringing in her ear, causing a shiver to run down Josie’s spine. 

_____

The next morning, Josie's reading session got interrupted by a slight knock on her door.

She opened it to find MG smiling with a grin that goes from ear to ear. That grin quickly faded though when he looked Josie up and down realizing that she was still in her PJs. 

“Josie…” he said with a frown, “Please tell me you didn’t forget the comic book club meeting today.”   
  
The siphoner’s eyes went wide with slight panic, trying to keep somewhat of a calm composure. She knew she had to play it off as something other than her pure distraction from her whole chimera situation. 

MG interrupted her before she could get out an excuse, “You promised Josie. For my birthday,” he said giving his best attempt at puppy eyes. 

“I’m sorry MG, I woke up late this morning and was getting dressed right when you knocked,” she spit out quickly, not sounding too sure of herself.

“Oh, okay,” MG smiled back, seeming to buy her lie. “We can just walk to the library together then. I’ll wait for you to change.” He continued to stand in Josie’s room with his arms crossed. He looked at her with a straight face, waiting for her to resume changing.

“Um, MG” Josie mumbled, “Can you wait outside?”

With that, MG finally got the message that he shouldn’t stay in Josie’s room while she’s changing. “Uh, right,” he said as he gave one last sheepish smile while rubbing the back of his neck before exiting..

With that, Josie quickly changed into her normal Saturday attire: a yellow cropped sweatshirt and grey joggers. 

Josie found MG, leaning up against the wall. Together they made their way to the library.

They arrived to the handful of people with the newest editions of the spiderman comic waiting by a table. As head of the club, MG formally began the meeting. Josie was really only here in support of MG; she wasn’t really interested in comic books.

MG’s voice was immediately pushed to the back of the mind when she saw Hope walk into the library. Her entire attention was completely diverted on the Mikaelson witch. God, she looked so pretty. The sun was shining just right to reflect the specks of gold in her irises. Josie would always notice the smaller, beautiful parts of Hope, no matter where they stood.

The eye contact was unavoidable; Josie never could manage to get away with staring. She was hit with a glare from the tribrid. 

The eye contact briefly lasted before Hope moved towards the Magic History section of the library. Josie knew Hope wouldn’t want anything to do with her after the events of the previous night, but it didn’t make it sting any less.

For the rest of the 30 minute meeting, Josie’s mind continued to circle around Hope. She wondered what she was doing, why she was in the library, and most importantly, how she was. Although, she probably could guess the answer to her last question.

Her thoughts were broken up when Jade walked into the library. She greeted the vampire with a kiss. 

“Hey, I was just finishing up here. Do you want to grab some food in the cafeteria?” Josie asked.

“You read my mind,” Jade smiled back, reaching out for Josie’s hand to lead the two towards the exit.

Of course, Josie notices that Hope is leaving the library at the same time. Ever since her and Jade’s fight in gym class, Josie wanted to make sure they never have a chance to fight like that ever again.

Even better, it looked like Hope was heading to the cafeteria as well. So, Josie and Jade trailed just a couple steps behind her, trying not to make things more awkward than they already were.

Josie couldn’t explain what happened next. Everything was just so fast.

Jade smirked and leaned towards Josie, “Damn, Mikaelson just can’t stay away from us. I mean there was the other day in the gym, the party, and then there’s now.” She motioned her head towards the tribrid who was only paces ahead of the two.

“I mean once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. But three times? Seems like a pattern Josie. I’m pretty sure she’s still obsessed with you Josie.”

Josie knew Hope could hear every word Jade had said. Jade knew it too.

Stopping Jade from saying another sentence, “Drop it Jade,” said Josie with a straight face. 

“What do you mean? You saw me kick her ass in the gym the other day. I just think she needs to know where the line is–”   
  
Before Josie could blink, Hope had turned around and stopped Jade right in her tracks. The two were once again facing each other with barely an inch between them. Hope’s voice was low, “She said drop it.”

“Once again Mikaelson has crossed the line,” Jade rolls her eyes, looking ready to fight again. 

All Josie could do was stand there, anger bubbling up inside of her. Jade had no reason to attack Hope like that other than to provoke a fight, but Hope should’ve known that’s exactly what the vampire was aiming to do. 

Josie was trying her best to calm herself, but without realizing it, she began to siphon from the floorboards. Obviously the calming methods weren’t working.

The sounds from the hallway began to slowly fade into background noise as Josie’s anger was reaching a peak. 

The rest happened so fast. Josie swears she wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. She only wanted to stop another fight from breaking out in the hallway.

She reached out her arm towards Hope to get in between the tribrid and the vampire, trying to separate the two. Her voice rang out, but her eyes were closed.

“I don’t need you fighting my battles, Hope.”

The sound of the tribrid crashing into the wall at the end of the hall caused Josie’s eyes to fly open. She found Hope a solid 20 feet away from where she previously was, on the ground. Jade, and the surrounding students who were also on their way to the cafeteria, stared at the scene that had just occurred.

Josie swears it was an accident; accidental siphoning and accidental magic caused by unnecessary stress as Lizzie would say.

Josie’s face went red, breaking away from the scene. She caught one last look at the tribrid, who’s face wasn’t filled with anger or hate, but disbelief. 

_____

Josie sprinted back to her room to avoid any confrontation about what had just happened in the hallway. Her dad will be pissed when he finds out, and knowing that this was not in line with Josie’s character, it will undoubtedly raise some suspicions. 

Even worse, Hope will either never pay attention to Josie again or hover over her until she figures out what’s wrong. One situation would not be ideal to keep her plan to defeat the chimera a secret. Hope would not let Josie out of her sight until she figured out what was making the siphoner act out. The tribrid knew her too well not to notice. Josie would eventually crack under Hope’s pressure; she never could hide anything from Hope, without supernatural help.

But the other situation would land Josie in a constant state of conflict with the tribrid. Not that Josie would get her hopes up in ever winning her back after lying to her and putting herself in immediate danger. She doesn’t think the tribrid would ever forgive her after this, but she had to prove to her dad and others that she wasn’t the fragile, weak-link that needed to be protected from every single threat. 

She also wanted to take some of the burden off Hope. When the chimera first arrived, they were still dating. Josie saw how tired Hope was, even though she wouldn’t admit it. Alaric had been using her as the school’s personal bodyguard, making her take longer shifts watching the portal, thinking she’d be able to take out any new monsters right away. He would have for sure singled out Hope to fight the monster, and the chimera was one she couldn’t fight alone. 

Because of that, Hope was a shell of herself for the last week and a half before the breakup. She hated her dad for what he did to her, let alone finding out he sent misbehaving kids to a literal prison world. 

A voice crept up behind her, “Nice scene in the hallway there,” it dragged along the back of her neck, interrupting her thoughts.

Josie knew immediately that the voice belonged to the chimera. Nothing else would create that drastic of a shift in the atmosphere: from a comfortable lingering smell of vanilla from her candles to complete and utter dread with the smell of dead roses. 

“Is that not what you specifically asked for?” she replied with a bite to her tongue.

“No, it certainly was, but I didn’t think you had it in you after your spectacle last night.”

“Guess I’ll just have to keep surprising you if you won’t trust me again.”

At this point, Josie was fully facing the chimera, not withholding any ounce of strength or courage to make herself seem as confident as possible. She couldn’t afford another slip up.

“You’re well on your way siphoner.” It paused. The silence was so thick that it only continued to fill the room with an unspeakable dread.

The silence was broken, “But at what cost.”

“What do you mean? I’m doing everything for you under my own free will. I’m not losing anything,” Josie responded, letting a hint of desperation slip through her cracking composure.

“I’m sure that’s what you keep telling yourself,” the chimera chimed back, circling toward the back of Josie once again. “But I know what your heart wants most.”    
  


Her voice came out squeaky after a swallow, all but revealing her crumbling poker face, “I don’t know what you mean,” she lied.

“Oh please,” the creature whispered into her ear, “the tribrid?”

Josie remained silent. She knew she couldn’t lie for much longer. Making it this far even surprised her.

“How will it feel knowing she will never love you again after this; that she will never even look in your direction without being reminded of the pain you’ve caused her.”

Josie clenched her jaw, to keep quiet. It took everything in her power to not siphon from the floorboards and blast this creature into dust, if she could even do that. 

“You can keep denying yourself the truth, but I’m telling it to you now: Hope will never forgive you, let alone love you, after she finds out that you’ve conspired with a monster against her.”

The chimera’s last words echoed in her ears as Josie could no longer feel a presence behind her. In a swift turn, she found it had disappeared from her room, only leaving its ominous message lingering in the air. Her room quickly returned back to its vanilla scent with no trace of the dreadful creature left behind.

Even though she knew the creature’s last words weren’t entirely true, she couldn’t help but feel like it was becoming more and more of her reality.

Josie sat in a silence that had become all too familiar these past weeks, thinking about if what the chimera had said about Hope was true. Had she really lost Hope forever?

_____

A week and a half passes, Josie being pulled to her wits end trying to make up lost ground with the chimera. 

The chimera would give her different tasks throughout the day. The trivial ones would be like planning a lunch date with Jade or dropping her off at classes. It was almost as if the creature knew Hope would see each of these events, as she was always a witness to the siphoner and vampire sharing their lunch or kissing each other goodbye before the bell rang. After all, its plan was to get Hope at her lowest, and jealousy was a damn quick way.

The more drastic tasks, and the ones Josie was more hesitant to accomplish, were ones like starting a rumor about Hope or sabotaging her project in their shared potions class. While Hope has always had rather tough skin, the chimera had set up Josie to spread the rumor during study hall in the library, right in Hope’s line of sight. Rumors would never usually hurt her, but seeing one come directly from the siphoner’s mouth would certainly do some damage. 

The day the chimera gave Josie the rumor task, she gathered a group of witches along with Jade to the library. They were all working on their homework for their defensive magic class, except Jade, who was only there because of Josie. 

Josie was watching the entry to the library, seeing the exact moment Hope walked in. Josie immediately turned to the group she gathered and started whispering merciless things about Hope. 

“Looked who just walked in,” slowly turning her head towards the direction of the tribrid, “You know her father was a mass murderer. I think she had to have inherited some of those crazy genes, I mean I would know…” 

The rest of the witches carried on the new gossip, and with that, Josie’s voice trailed off. She knew damn well Hope would eavesdrop and her reaction only proved Josie’s assumption. 

She only saw two emotions on the tribrid’s face: betrayal first and anger quickly following.

Josie exited the library abruptly after that. She couldn’t bear to see that, because of her, Hope was drifting further and further away right in front of her eyes.

_____

The next day, Josie was on her way to the Old Mill for Lizzie’s study group session with the rest of the witches. 

It was slowly becoming more and more like fall: Josie’s favorite season. There was a slight breeze that rustled the trees out in the forest, and Josie always obsessed over the way the fallen leaves sounded under her feet.

When she was just about to the Old Mill, Josie stepped, but didn’t hear the satisfying crunch of leaves. Instead she was met with, from what she could tell, a small object; it was hard and foreign to the forest.

She lifted up her foot to find the silver glisten of a necklace. It was covered in dirt making it almost unrecognizable. 

Almost.

It was the necklace she had given Hope for her birthday. The necklace that she painstakingly watched the tribrid take off at the party. The necklace that she could’ve sworn was stuffed in Hope’s back pocket when she took it off. After all Josie watched the entire scene unfold before her. 

Did Hope throw the necklace when Josie wasn’t looking? Or did the necklace simply slip out of the tribrid’s pocket? Either way made Josie feel just as broken inside. 

Josie attempted to clean off the necklace with her shirt, but all it did was smudge it more and bring back the memory she missed the most:

_ Josie had searched every inch of Mystic Falls for the perfect birthday gift for Hope. It became increasingly clear that Hope was impossible to buy for.  _

_ Josie let out a deep sigh. She was supposed to see her girlfriend in two hours after Hope got done calling her family, and she didn’t have a gift. _

_ The siphoner decided to do one last lap around the town square to make sure she didn’t miss anything. Maybe a homemade meal and card would have to suffice. Josie believed they’d have plenty more opportunities to surprise each other with gifts. _

_ On the last stretch of the square, Josie lingered in front of the local jewelry store. Her eyes landed on a simple wishbone necklace. She didn’t know how she missed the display before, but it didn’t matter now. The necklace would go perfectly with Hope’s Mikaelson crest and crescent moon necklaces, and it felt like the moment could come full circle since Hope gifted her the talisman for her 16th birthday.  _

_ And without hesitation, she bought the necklace with a smile across her face.  _

_ Fast forward two hours, and Josie was pacing in her room waiting for Hope. She didn’t know why she was this nervous. She had set up a little dinner in her room knowing that Hope preferred simple things over extravagant ones. _

_ The necklace was wrapped up in a box placed at the center of the setup Josie had assembled. But no matter how prepared Josie was, she couldn’t overcome her nerves. They had been dating a little over a month now and were perfectly comfortable with each other, but for some reason this occasion felt different. _

_ Then came the knock on her door. _

_ Her panic immediately subsided when her eyes landed on her girlfriend. God she was so beautiful, even when she didn’t try. _

_ Hope’s eyes scanned the room. “Josie,” Hope said softly, “you did not have to do all this.” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “It’s your birthday Hope. Of course I did.” Josie simply smiled in return before pulling in her girlfriend for a hug. _

_ After the embrace, Hope pushed her hair behind her ear, looking timidly at the siphoner, “Ok, well you might kill me,” her voice trailed off, “Freya sent me some beignets from home that I kind of filled up on before I came here…” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Oh,” Josie paused, “that’s okay I can clean it up–” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “No,” Hope quickly interjected, “you can leave it. I’m sure I’ll snack on it later.” She gave a reassuring smile, putting Josie back at ease. Hope wrapped her arms around the siphoner and placed her head on the crook of her neck. She had to stand on her tiptoes to even do so.  _

_ “Well at least let me give you your present,” said Josie turned towards the top of Hope’s head as she shifted towards the box on the ground. _

_ They both moved to the bed, causing a little dip as they sat down simultaneously. Josie gave the wrapped box to Hope praying the other girl would like it. _

_ Hope carefully unwrapped the box as Josie sat impatiently with growing anticipation right next to her.  _

_ Josie saw Hope’s eyes go wide when she opened the lid and saw the necklace. _

_ “So,” Josie bit her lip. She began to ask in a shaky voice, “do–do you like it?” _ __   
  


_ “Do I like it? Jo, I love it.” When the tribrid turned fully to the siphoner, Josie swore that she saw the biggest smile she’d ever seen on Hope.  _

_ Hope casually leaned in for a chaste peck of the lips, catching Josie somewhat off guard. By the time Josie realized the tribrid was kissing her, Hope pulled away, turning her back to the siphoner. “Care to help me put it on?” _

_ Snapping out of whatever trance that kiss put her in, Josie quickly nodded. She took the necklace from Hope’s hands and draped it around her neck. As delicately as possible, she moved Hope’s hair and closed the clasp of the necklace, securing it around Hope’s neck.  _

_ With Hope’s back being inches away from Josie’s front, when Josie accidentally brushed her hands along Hope’s collarbone, she felt the tribrid tense up. _

_ Hope began to lean back into the siphoner’s lap, her head landing perfectly back into the crook of the siphoner’s neck. She started to plant small kisses behind Josie’s ear, trailing down to her pulse point. Josie’s eyes flutter closed, trying to get every nerve to focus on Hope’s touches. _

_ “I love you Josette Saltzman,” Hope whispered into her ear, before playfully biting her earlobe.  _

_ Hope continued her trail of kisses along the siphoner’s neck as she shifted from laying back on the siphoner to slowly moving on top of her. More importantly, Josie just let it all happen. There was no place she’d rather be than in the arms of her girlfriend. _

_ With Hope on top of Josie now, she moved her lips from her neck and pulse point to Josie’s collarbone. Josie instinctually placed her hands at the hips of the tribrid, locking her in place on top of her.  _

_ Josie’s eyes remained closed while her mouth let out strangled whimpers from Hope’s attack. With anyone else, Josie might have been embarrassed for letting these sounds slip out, but with Hope, it didn’t matter. _

_ When Josie didn’t feel Hope’s lips on her skin anymore, she slowly opened her eyes. Brown met blue, or rather black, as Hope’s pupils were dilated beyond measure with only one emotion filling her eyes: want. _

_ Hope remained straddled on Josie but started to sit up. Before Josie could follow Hope with her lips, Hope began to pull off her own shirt. All Josie could do was stare. _

_ “Is this okay?” Hope asked rather shly.  _

_ They hadn’t technically had sex yet. Sure they’d find themselves in compromising positions before, but they’d never taken it this far. _

_ “Of course,” Josie smiled before sitting up herself and meeting Hope’s lips. _

_ They moved together in perfect unison. Just as a tide, Hope would push, Josie would pull, both falling into a heated rhythm. Josie had moved her hands from the hips of tribrid towards the nape of her neck, taking her time to trail up her sides, feeling the reaction she elicited from Hope with just a simple touch.  _

_ More suppressed moans were falling out of mouths, but this time Josie couldn’t tell if they were hers or Hope’s.  _

_ With her lips thoroughly bruised and numbed, Hope paused, pulling away to quickly catch her breath. This allowed Josie to discard her own shirt before surging back towards the tribrid’s lips. She was so desperate for Hope’s touch that her entire body curved into Hope’s. _

_ Hope once again moved her lips down to her neck leaving light bite marks in their wake, but this time she continued past Josie’s collarbone . _

_ This position allowed Josie’s mind to wander. The realization of where this was headed hit her like a ton of bricks.  _

_ Josie gave a slight push to Hope’s shoulders, causing Hope to sit up and pull away. Josie immediately missed the warmth. _

_ “Are you sure Hope?” She asked, slightly out of breath. _

_ All Hope could do was smile. “More than ever.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> made a twitter. follow it if you want @hopesdrunk


End file.
